LORT — The Risk of Rain 2–inspired roguelike that sold 100,000 copies in three days

This caught my attention because a ten-person team hitting six figures in just over three days isn’t luck – it’s a clear product-market fit for people who still crave that Risk of Rain 2 formula done faithfully and with personality.

LORT: A bright, faithful spin on Risk of Rain 2 that’s already a surprise Steam hit

• Key takeaways:
• LORT sold 100,000 units in a little over three days after its early access launch – remarkable for a ten-person indie.
• The game leans hard into RoR2-style loop design: up to eight-player co-op, four biomes, big bosses, and deep item interactions (95 power-ups).
• Developer transparency: an active roadmap (new weapon, biome and meta progression), plus responsiveness to early feedback about solo difficulty.
• Current price is discounted 34% in launch week – a bargain point for co-op roguelike fans who want the game while it evolves.

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Publisher|Big Distraction
Release Date|Early Access (launch week) — sale through Wednesday February 4
Category|Roguelike / Roguelite, Co-op Action
Platform|PC (Steam)
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Launching on Steam is noisy, and yet LORT — made by ten-person developer Big Distraction — cut through that noise fast. The studio openly said they “kept waiting for another Risk of Rain 2” and then left triple-A to build what they wanted. The result is not a copy, but a close, affectionate riff: same addictive escalation, same thrill of compounding power-ups, and a more colorful, bouncy aesthetic that keeps the tone light while the tension spikes.

What stands out in LORT’s current build is how much gameplay is already present for an early access release: four biomes (each with a boss), 45+ enemy types, a final showdown, nine weapon archetypes (from swords and wands to handguns), 95 power-ups and 35 challenges and unlocks. That item count is the game’s lifeblood — the interactions between power-ups are what create the “god-crushing” runs that make replay loops addictive.

Comparisons are inevitable. 2025’s Megabonk showed there’s appetite for RoR2-inspired design but pursued a different rhythm; LORT hews closer to the RoR2 blueprint. That conservatism is a strength here — it’s familiar for players who liked scaling chaos but adds personality through its visuals, voice, and weird touches (yes, there’s “one muscle mommy statue,” and yes, the devs lean into playful copy like “pleasant squawks of our dear, dear Lawrence Fishbird”).

Big Distraction’s roadmap is sensible and player-focused: the first major update will add a rogue adventurer character and daggers, more power-ups and challenges, and beyond that the team plans new biomes, meta-progression expansion, quest variety, difficulty settings, and an endless mode. That’s the right early-access posture: ship a compelling loop, iterate rapidly, and expand systems that deepen variety rather than tacking on thin content.

One honest note: early feedback flagged that LORT can feel too hard solo. The devs replied that LORT is a roguelite and not intended to be trivial, but they’ve already made small tweaks and signaled further balancing work. That mirrors RoR2’s own rough early difficulty curve — it’s a tricky tightrope between preserving challenge and onboarding new players. The devs’ tips about attribute bonuses (most scaling is driven by those upgrades) are genuine and useful: optimize for character-primary stats and experiment from there.

What this means for players

If you want cooperative, build-driven roguelikes LORT is worth a look now: the price during the 34% launch sale ($9.89 / £8.44, rising to $14.99 / £12.79 after) makes it low-risk, and eight-player co-op means it can be a social run-and-gun staple. Solo players should be ready for a learning curve — but if you enjoy optimization and item-synergy experimentation, the early access loop will reward investment.

For the indie scene, LORT’s fast sales are a reminder that faithful, well-executed takes on beloved designs still resonate. The real test will be whether Big Distraction sustains momentum with meaningful updates rather than bloat. Their roadmap and tone so far suggest they’re listening — and that’s the best place to be when a game’s early access future matters.

TL;DR

LORT is a bright, RoR2-inspired roguelite from a ten-person team that sold 100K copies in just over three days. It’s already feature-rich for early access (co-op up to eight players, 95 power-ups, four biomes) and reasonably priced on launch sale. Expect active updates, balance tuning, and a solid co-op loop — solo players should prepare for a steep but fair learning curve.